Park Days, Guinness Cake, Lamb Patties, Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Ricotta Cheese Cookies

It has been WAY too long since I have last blogged.  

Kinda a whole lotta nothing and everything all at the same time.

Let's see....My third niece, Mila Jo was born.

Kevin and Sarah came to visit and ski/snowboard at ABasin.

George and Kerri added a little fox-bear named Nima to their family.

George had his first Denver art show!

My little family took a trip to Santa Fe to visit Gigi and Mimi.

Bryan got engaged.

And David and I got married.

Whew, that was exhausting!

Now something more relaxing.

 Park Days

My Favorite.



And Now... drum roll... FOOD!!!!

Guinness Cake
by none other than Nigella Lawson

Can you hear the angels sing????

'Cause you should.

They are...

I swear.

Guinness Cake

• 250ml Guinness
• 250g unsalted butter
• 75g cocoa
• 400g caster sugar
• 1 x 142ml pot sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
• 275g plain flour
• 2 1/2teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 300g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 150g icing sugar
• 125ml double or whipping cream

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C, and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.
3. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
4. When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.
5. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

Serves: Makes about 12 slices 

Afterthoughts:  If only this cake existed in my everyday life....

Seriously, don't live life without eating this cake.

I strongly discourage it.

*Warning:  This is not an exaggeration!

Also: All conversions are easily googled.

Let me know if you have any questions.

I had to convert mine due to altitude.

Now, we don't have cable tv and we live off our Netflix and Hulu.

I stumbled onto a show called Cook Yourself Thin.

I really loathe the name of the show but they do come up with some

wonderful alternative recipes to comfort food!

Lamb Patties and Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Lamb Patties from Sam Zien

Sweet Potatoes derived from Cook Yourself Thin

Lamb Patties

Ingredients
1 pound ground lamb
1/2 cup red onion, diced small
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped fine
(the more mint the merrier)
1/2 teaspoon each Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 piece Feta cheese, big enough to get four 3/4 inch square blocks
Heat your grill to high. Put the lamb, onion, mint, oregano, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix really well.
Separate lamb mixture into 5 equal portions and form into patties using the feta squares as the center. Grill until done and evenly cooked. Yhe cheese might leak a bit, but if so, no big deal.
I like to serve them without a bun.
Serves 5.


*If served with a bun, dress them up with 
-1 cup mayo (sub plain greek yogurt to cut cals)
-1/2 cup chopped red onion
-1/4 to 1/2 cup of capers
(depending on your relationship with capers)
-Generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Pepper to your pleasing.


This is super yummy and a great Outdoor Dinner Party Entree.


Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 cup Tarragon 
2 slices bacon
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and onto an oven rack. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until fork-tender.

3. Meanwhile, in a deep saute pan heat the olive oil and cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add tarragon. cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the tarragon has wilted.

4. In another saute pan cook the bacon until crisp and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. When cooled, chop the bacon into small pieces and reserve.

5. When the sweet potatoes are cooked, let them cool for 5 minutes. Carefully slice each one in half and scoop out inside of potato into a bowl. Add cream cheese, buttermilk, tarragon mixture, salt and pepper, and mash together until smooth.

6. Using a pastry brush, coat the outside of each potato skin with the vegetable oil. Fill each of the shells with the filling and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Transfer each skin back to the baking sheet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the skins are crispy. Top with bits of bacon and serve.




*Afterthoughts:  This recipe called for scallions and spinach which I subbed with tarragon.
BEEECAAAUSE...it's what I had.
Oh my stars, was this a lucky day!
Now, I DO NOT like licorice which tarragon can play to.
It gave it the most lovely complexity....this is a must try.
I would not steer your wrong!
Also, I'm not in love with using cream cheese, next time I might try goat cheese.
My family loved it and my hope is that yours will too!

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

derived from All Recipes.com

I used to work at Cafe 501 in Edmond, Ok.

They have the most amazing Ricotta Cheese Cookies

....among many other gems.

They truly melt in your mouth.

Who knew this Italian Delight was so simple to make.

Well, I guess the Italian Dessert part should have given me a clue.

Please Please Make and Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound butter
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
•  
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, sugar, eggs, ricotta cheese, and vanilla extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; blend into the creamed mixture, mixing in additional flour as necessary to form a workable dough. Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls, and arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.
4. In a medium bowl, beat milk, confectioners' sugar, and almond extract until smooth. Spoon over warm cookies.  Voila!!!

* Afterthoughts:  This recipe makes quite a bit.  It gets a bit messy rolling but recruit those wee ones and put them to work!  It is WELL worth it!  These are extremely delicate.  If you store in an airtight container they will turn to mush.  Frankly,  I haven't found the perfect storage container.  Let me know if you have ideas.

Love to All...